UK: Northern Ireland peace agreement architects urge parties in the region to break deadlock

The architects of the landmark 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland has called on the region’s political leaders to break past the current stalemate. This comes amidst the ongoing disputes between the region’s largest political party and the post-Brexit trade arrangements the United Kingdom has with the European Union.

During a conference at Queen’s University in Belfast Monday, former US senator George Mitchell, who oversaw the 1998 talks between the Irish nationalists and the pro-British unionists, said peace was at stake if the stalemate continues. Mitchell, along with former US President Bill Clinton, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, was in the region to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

“It is now, as it is then, for the current and future leaders of Northern Ireland to act with courage and vision, as their predecessors did 25 years ago…to preserve peace,” said Mitchell.

The 1998 peace deal, also known as the Belfast Agreement, largely ended decades of sectarian violence in the region. However, the agreement has been overshadowed by the ongoing boycott of the Democratic Unionist Party of the power-sharing government in the region in protest of the post-Brexit trade agreement between the UK and the EU.

“You know in your heart of hearts what the right thing to do is and you should just get on and do it,” said Blair, addressing the current leaders of the region.

Ahern directly called on the DUP to take action, saying that the people of Northern Ireland “need them.”

On the same day, the region honored the 29 women who also played a key role in the peace agreement, which former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said would not have been possible without their involvement. Clinton praised the recipients of medals and honorary degrees, saying that they are “determined, unstoppable forces for peace.”

Among the recipients include the late British minister for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam, and the founders of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, which formed their own party in 1996 to participate in the peace talks. Mary Robinson, the first female Irish President, was also honored along with the first female first minister of Northern Ireland, Mary Robinson, and journalist Lyra McKee, who was killed in 2019 during an outbreak of sporadic violence in the region that continues to this day.